The holidays can be a tough time of the year to stay on track with our healthy eating plans. From office to family parties, the temptation to eat high sugar treats and decadent appetizers are all around us.

Not to worry, I have you covered. Below are Five Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating to keep you on track this season with your health and nutrition goals.

1. Eat Breakfast Everyday

Your mother was right, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It ‘breaks’ the ‘fast’ from the last meal you consumed the night before, and also provides us with the energy to get our day started.

Research shows that those who eat breakfast are more satisfied throughout the day, and are less likely to consume large amounts of food in the evening. This means that when those holiday and office parties roll around, you’ll be less tempted to grab a second helping.

Not to mention breakfast keeps our metabolism in high gear, and studies show that those who consume breakfast have a lower weight overall. Aim for a balanced meal first thing in the morning. Which can be a bowl of high fiber cereal with fruit and low fat milk, or eggs and 100% whole wheat brown bread with fruit.

2. Aim For a Maximum of One Sweet Per Day.

It’s well known that the Holiday season brings a lot of festive holiday treats. From the workplace to home, and friend and family parties, Christmas goodies are all around us.

It’s OK to treat yourself to these delicious and festive treats, but limit yourself to a maximum of one holiday treat per day. For example, this can be one Christmas cookie, one holiday kiss, one chocolate Turtle.

Whatever you choose, enjoy it but limit to a maximum of one per day.

3. Maintain Good Eating Habits on The Day of Holiday Parties.

Have you, or someone that you know, ever cut back their eating on a day where there will be known poor choices? The idea is that if you restrict your food earlier, you will be able to eat more later and still be within your daily calorie and energy intake. Unfortunately, research shows thats not how it works.

If we restrict our intake and calories, studies show that as the day goes on we become more, and more hungry. This means that when our dinner party rolls around, we will be so hungry that we will eat more food than what we had planned, and also will make more poor choices.

For healthy holiday eating, continue with your balanced breakfast and lunch. In addition, have a snack before your guests arrive, or before you go to your holiday party. If your more satisfied, you will be less enticed to eat those delicious looking appetizers and sweets.

4. Make Better Choices at Holiday Parties.

Yes, all of that food looks absolutely delicious. BUT before you grab a plate, follow some of these super helpful tips.

Use a smaller plate for your meals which will help with portion control. In like manner, make half of your plate vegetables, and avoid getting a little bit of everything. Try and choose 1-2 high calorie options, and the rest known lower calorie choices.

In addition, wait at least 10-20 minutes to see if your hungry before grabbing seconds. This gives time for your “fullness” hormones to kick in and let us know if we actually need that second helping.

5. Enjoy Yourself!

Remember, Christmas only rolls around once a year. So it’s important to celebrate and enjoy your time with the ones you love most.

It’s ok if you ate a bit more then you planned yesterday, or even last week. Look at today as a new day and a clean slate. Continue with your healthy eating plans, and make good choices throughout the Holiday period as you can.

In other words, don’t make a big deal if one day didn’t work out as planned.

Above all, I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday period and get to enjoy yourself with the ones that matter to you the most!